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Teachers’ Union Chief Randi Weingarten Questioned Over Scandalous Spending Including $100,000 Limo Bill

Randi Weingarten/Image: Video screenshot.

On Thursday, the Education and Workforce Committee sent a letter to American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten demanding answers and accountability after details surfaced regarding the union chief’s excessive and potentially improper spending on luxury travel.

The letter, from Education and Workforce Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Rick Allen (R-GA) demands details from Weingarten regarding public records that show that, since September of 2023, the partisan Democrat cheerleader spent $100,000 on private limousine services.

Walberg and Allen write, “The Committee has received reports describing first-class travel, family-related expenses, and large vendor payments that appear unrelated to legitimate representational activities.”

“If substantiated, these allegations reveal a troubling lack of accountability within AFT leadership. It is the Committee’s responsibility to conduct oversight to protect union members. As such, the Committee seeks to ascertain the truth of these allegations and whether the alleged conduct may warrant reform of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA).”

“The magnitude of recent AFT officer reimbursements raises questions about the adequacy of your current treasury oversight practices. AFT’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Form LM-2 shows that you received $42,105 in additional disbursements on top of your $457,769 gross salary (which, notably, is more than six times the average teacher salary of $72,030).”

“Committee sources allege that part of your reimbursements covered personal international travel unrelated to AFT business and that union funds were used to provide you with a full-time private driver. AFT’s LM-2 filings also list disbursements to Alpine Limousine Service, Inc., with payments totaling over $100,000 in each of the previous two fiscal years. … Using union funds to pay a luxury private limousine service suggests that AFT is financing personal conveniences for senior officers rather than using union funds appropriately.”

“Meanwhile, Secretary-Treasurer Fedrick Ingram received a gross salary of $301,892 in FY 2024, plus an additional allowance of $76,200 in 2024 and in each of the previous three fiscal years. This regularity is unusual: every other officer or employee who received more than $5,000 in annual allowances saw their payments fluctuate from year to year.”

“Furthermore, in each of those years, Ingram’s allowance exceeded that of any other officer or employee by more than $30,000. These discrepancies raise questions about how allowances are calculated and utilized. Absent detailed documentation and effective oversight, such expenditures may not be transparent, which may hide the extent of personal benefits, leaving union members’ dues vulnerable to misuse.”

The letter requests Weingarten produce documents and information by August 21 to determine if legislative action is warranted including:

1. State whether AFT authorizes first-class or business-class air travel for its officers when using union funds, and if so describe the circumstances under which such bookings are permitted;
2. Documents sufficient to show how AFT officer allowances are, or have been, calculated and the process for approving those payments from FY 2022 to present;
3. Documents sufficient to show the current process for approving officer reimbursements;
4. Documents sufficient to show the current policy governing officer compensation, allowances, and reimbursements for use of private car or driver services;
5. For any private car or driver service used by or assigned to an AFT officer since FY 2022 where AFT’s payments exceeded $25,000 in a fiscal year, provide the vendor name, the officer(s) served, the total amount paid per fiscal year, and the related contracts or invoices;
6. Identify each international trip paid in whole or in part with union funds, including cost and purpose, for any officer whose reimbursements exceeded $40,000 from FY 2022 to present;
7. State whether AFT has paid for travel or lodging for an officer’s family member since FY 2022;
8. All documents from FY 2022 to present, including AFT’s constitution, bylaws, and resolutions which, in accordance with the LMRDA, dictate how AFT manages, invests, and expends its money and property;
9. Identify the AFT officers or governing bodies charged with ensuring union fund expenditures are appropriate and documented correctly, including on form LM-2;
10. All financial audits, from FY 2022 to present, as required by AFT’s bylaws.

Read the full letter here.

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